City of Midland
Freedom of Information Act
(P.A. 442 of 1976, as amended)
Administrative Policy
I. Purpose.
Public Act 442 of 1976, commonly known as the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA), requires the City of Midland (City) to
disclose, upon request, all non-exempt public records that are
covered under the Act. The purpose of the Act is to insure that
all persons, except those incarcerated in state or local
correction facilities, are entitled to full and complete
information regarding the affairs of government and the official
acts of those who represent them as public officials and public
employees.
Pursuant to Section 4 of the Act, the City is authorized to
charge a fee for providing a copy of a public record and a fee
for examining, reviewing, separating and deleting exempt from
non-exempt public records, subject to specific limitations and
restrictions. The City is required to establish and publish
procedures and guidelines to implement provisions of the Act with
respect to fees to be charged to the public.
II. Policy.
1. Upon written request, all non-exempt public records of the
City will be made available for inspection and/or a copy provided
pursuant to the requirements of the Act.
2. The City Manager is hereby designated as the City's FOIA
Coordinator. The FOIA Coordinator shall be responsible for
accepting and processing requests for the City's public records
and shall be responsible for approving a denial of a request
pursuant to Sections 5(4) and 5(5) of the Act.
The Act provides that the FOIA Coordinator may designate
another individual to act on his or her behalf in these matters.
As authorized, the FOIA Coordinator hereby designates the City
Clerk as the person responsible for accepting and processing FOIA
requests. Further, in the absence of the FOIA Coordinator, the
FOIA Coordinator hereby designates the City Attorney as the
person responsible for approving a denial of a request. As
necessary, other individuals may be delegated these
responsibilities.
3. The FOIA Coordinator shall insure that a copy of all
written requests for public records are kept on file for no less
than 1 year.
4. The fees to be charged for complying with a request under the Freedom of Information Act shall not exceed any one or more of the following items, as applicable:
a. Actual mailing costs.
b. Actual incremental cost of duplication or publication, including labor.
c. Actual labor cost of searching, examining, reviewing and deleting, and separating exempt from non-exempt information as provided in Section 14 of the Act.
In calculating the cost of labor incurred, the City may not
charge more than the hourly wage of the lowest paid City employee
capable of retrieving the information necessary to comply with
the request. Fees shall be uniform and not dependent upon the
identity of the person submitting the request. Fees shall be
waived for requests for information for which the fee would be
equal to or less than $5.00.
5. The FOIA Coordinator shall publish a schedule of fees
permitted under the Act and shall annually review and publish any
changes to be made to the schedule of fees. A copy of the
schedule of fees shall be maintained by the City Clerk and made
available to the public.
6. To administer this Policy in an efficient and consistent manner, the following documents shall be utilized and distributed as necessary:
A. Public Information Sheet
B. Overview of Freedom of Information Act
C. Exceptions to the Act
D. Schedule of Fees
E. Waiver of Fees
F. Procedures for Processing a FOIA Request
G. Freedom of Information Act Request Form
H. Freedom of Information Act Request Response
I. Affidavit of Indigency
7. The FOIA Coordinator shall annually review the City's FOIA
policy Administrative Policy and shall publish any revisions. The
FOIA Coordinator may enter into agreements with other public
bodies as necessary to effectively administer and coordinate this
Policy.
Service Fee
1. Labor cost for: Actual cost for the service
mailing, rendered by the service provider.
duplicating,
searching, examining,
reviewing, separating,
deleting.
2. Labor cost for monitoring Actual cost for the service
public review of original file rendered by the service provider.
at City offices.
3. Mailing costs. Actual cost.
4. Duplicating
Per page-one side $0.10 each
Per two-sided page $0.20 total
5. Other materials, i.e. video tapes, Actual cost.
computer disks, etc.
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NOTES:
1. Fees of $5.00 or less shall be waived.
2. A good faith deposit must be provided in advance for those requests for which the fees are estimated to be over $50.00. The deposit shall not exceed 1/2 of the total fee.
3. The fee must be received before copies are delivered or
before searching and reviewing commences, if a deposit is
required.
3. No services shall be provided to a person or entity who
owes the City money as a result of a prior request to receive
copies or to review the City's public records.
Return to City of Midland Freedom of Information Act Policy
The FOIA coordinator or his or her designee shall have the
exclusive authority to determine if a fee for a Freedom of
Information Act request shall be waived and the following
criteria shall be used to render such a decision:
1. No fee shall be charged if the request can be considered to
be in the public interest because searching for or furnishing
copies of the public record can be considered as primarily
benefiting the general public.
2. A public record search shall be made and a copy of the
public record shall be furnished without charge for the first
$20.00 of the fee for each request to an individual who is
entitled to information under this Act and who submits an
affidavit, provided by the City, which shall state that the
individual is then receiving public assistance or, if not
receiving public assistance, stating facts showing inability to
pay the cost because of indigency. A person shall be considered
indigent if that person's income level is at or below the federal
poverty level as established by the Bureau of the Census.
3. Fees of $5.00 or less shall be waived.